


LGF 4: Family Ties

by RV (TekeoMiona)



Series: LGF'Verse [4]
Category: Tremors: The Series
Genre: Adventure, Family, Graboid, Twins, i'm dying on tags right now, melvin's a turd, not really - Freeform, rabbits of doom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-30
Updated: 2014-11-30
Packaged: 2018-02-27 15:13:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2697536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TekeoMiona/pseuds/RV
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They've just finished rounding up the latest Mixmaster outbreak when a reporter comes to town to do a story on the strange happenings in the valley. Twitchell warns them to keep things as quiet and normal as possible but things take an unexpected twist when the reported ends up being related to one of them. And then trouble shows up with a capital M.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Reporter

**Author's Note:**

> For those who aren't familiar with Michael Gross' work, the title of this fic is a reference to the tv show he's famous for, Family Ties. Great show, if you've never seen it. It's on Netflix. Gander at it.
> 
> *RV makes no claim to own Tremors or its characters. They are the property of S.S. Wilson and Stampede Entertainment.*

Melvin turned the AC in his van up another notch to stave off the desert heat. He couldn't see how the residents of this valley could stand it, living here with no AC, giant worms, and those other odd creatures that seemed to pop up out of nowhere.

'Course if he could just get rid of that damn worm he could turn the barren place into a desert paradise. Not that that would happen anytime soon. Burt and the rest of those crazy idiots that lived there protected the graboid with their lives. There was no way he could-

"WHOA!" Melvin suddenly slammed on the brakes and yanked the wheel, swerving to avoid the little rabbit that had hopped into his path out of nowhere. Not that he was one of those who absolutely adored animals-he wasn't-but in the split second he saw it he noticed it wasn't quite...right.

Stopping just off the side of the road Melvin climbed out and stared at the animal. The baby rabbit just sat there and stared back at him. For the most part it looked like any other young bunny. Except it was well over a foot tall, much taller than even a full grown rabbit, and had the tail of a Mohave Rattlesnake, with contrasting narrow black and broad white stripes.

Melvin circled it carefully. Growing up in a small town he had learned early how to identify a Mohave Rattlesnake. They were common in Perfection Valley and incredibly venomous to both people and pets. He wasn't sure about the rabbit though. It had both the coloring and tail of the Mohave but otherwise was just a rabbit. How the hell could a rabbit and rattlesnake combine? That was impossible.

_'Well, this_ is _Perfection Valley,'_  Melvin reminded himself. The residents were always battling something new and unnatural it seemed.

The snake/rabbit hopped closer to Melvin and he started. There was no telling if that thing was just as venomous as the snake, if it bit him-

Melvin stopped as a sudden thought hit him. This thing was apparently native to the valley. And if it  _was_  poisonous and something ate it...that thing would die. So if El Blanco ate it he could die and the residents wouldn't be able to do anything about it. Or better yet, pin it on him. And then he could finally take over the valley and build Melville.

Grinning happily at his new brilliant plan Melvin took off his jacket and scooped up the strange rabbit. It struggled briefly but then settled down again. He stuck it in a box in the back of the van. Pestering the residents could wait another day. Right now, he had a creature to examine.

* * *

Burt entered Changs' Market early in the morning. He had been up late the previous night so he was running on little sleep, but he wasn't one to sleep in. He needed coffee. Thankfully, that's exactly what Larry was doing when the survivalist walked in. Making coffee, strong and black just the way he liked it.

"Morning Burt!" Larry said a bit too enthusiastically. "Wow, you look tired. How late did you and Tyler stay up last night?"

"Past three," the survival grumbled. "Took forever to round up all those rabbits." He took the coffee from Larry as soon as he finished, drinking it gratefully.

"Yeah, Jodi mentioned you guys found another rabbit den with those things. What was it? Cottontail and Mohave?"

"Yeah, and we didn't want another Snat Dog incident on our hands," Burt said. "And I doubt that guy you found would have taken another load of venomous creatures."

"So how poisonous were they exactly?" Larry asked. "Casey seemed real worried about them."

"She said it was highly concentrated, meaning one bite was equivalent to more like five rattlesnake bites," Burt explained.

"That's nasty," they turned to see Jodi walking out from the back of the store, her eyes betraying the fact she hadn't been up very long.

"Morning Jodi," Larry said, handing her a cup of coffee.

"Morning," she greeted the both of them, taking her coffee and getting a tired wave from Burt in return.

"What really worried Casey was that their venom could be deadly to El Blanco if swallowed," Burt added. "And they would be plenty big enough for him to eat when they were full grown."

"Wow. Good thing you guys got all of 'em then," Larry commented as he was shooed out from behind the counter.

"Took forever," he grumbled. "At least they didn't seem too interested in biting us."

"And we are very thankful," Jodi smiled, sipping her coffee. Larry nodded in agreement.

A few minutes passed in relative silence. All of a sudden, the doors to the store burst open and in rushed Twitchell, looking ticked off. "Gummer! I've got some bad news," he growled.

"What is it, Twitchell? Another assignment?" Burt asked, rolling his eyes.

"No. There's a reporter coming to town," he said angrily.

Jodi let out an over-dramatic groan. "Oh, no! A reporter! Our lives are ruined!" she mocked.

Twitch gave her an angry glare. "He's coming to investigate the strange goings on."

"What strange goings on?" Larry asked. "Our strange goings on have gotten out? I thought they were contained?"

"Well, when two construction workers are eaten to the bone, speculations are bound to be made," Burt mumbled.

"Exactly," the DOI agent said. "And it's up to you all to keep anything from leaking."

Burt gave Twitchell an annoyed look. "I thought that was your job."

"A government agent hanging around wouldn't exactly keep up appearances, now would it?"

"What do you call your biweekly checkups then?" Jodi asked dryly.

Larry snickered. "Don't worry Twitch, nothing's gonna slip out. Besides, we just had our newest mixmaster creation breakout. There's usually a week or so before anything new comes along."

"I'm sorry, Twitch, you'll just have to trust us this time," Burt smirked, getting a look from him.

"If you screw up, you'll be packing up faster than you can say, 'Sorry'," he grumbled, grabbing a couple twizzlers from a jar.

Jodi glared at him. "I don't recall saying, 'Help yourself to my candy'!"

Larry backed her up, holding his hand out pointedly in the thief's direction. Twitchell rolled his eyes, putting the candy in the sci-fi fan's hand. He mumbled something about getting out of town before the reporter showed up and left.

Nancy walked in just as he left, giving him a hello and quick goodbye as he stalked out the door. She turned to the others. "What's he so grumpy about this morning?"

Jodi gave her an already-prepared cup of coffee. "Some reporter is coming to town and we have to keep everything quiet. So, no dragons and no Mixmaster. And as few whitecoats as possible."

"Well, the dragons and whitecoats should be relatively easy," Nancy mused. "But as for Mixmaster, the valley usually has rather intervening plans."

"We'll just have to keep our mouths shut," Burt said, "And keep them away from any possible creatures that may pop up."

"Keep who away?" Tyler's tired voice barely reached their ears as the sleepy tour guide slugged his way into the store.

"Some reporter that's coming to do a story behind all our strange creatures," Nancy replied.

"Oh," Tyler took the offered cup of coffee, drank it, and then turned around to leave.

"That tired?" Larry joked.

"Yes."

The sound of tires on the sandy ground pulled the others from their seats and after Tyler. A brand new blue Nissan stopped in front of the store as the residents filed out onto the porch.

"Think it's the reporter?" Larry asked.

"Probably," Jodi said. "No Survival School today and no tour till after noon."

"Just what this town needs," Burt grumbled, "More media."

They watched as the driver got out of the car, revealing a young woman with shoulder length dark brown hair, about 5' 8", and looked oddly familiar to them as well. She turned to look at them and almost immediately her entire face lit up as she raced up onto the porch.

There was hardly enough time for the man to utter a startled "How?" before Tyler was tackled into the wall of the store. The woman hugged him hard.

"Oh my gosh! Ty, I can't believe it's you!" She squealed happily and kissed him on the cheek as the residents simply stood there and stared in shock.


	2. Reunion

Burt stared at the women mauling the tour guide for a moment. "Tyler, you know her?" he asked, an eyebrow raised in interest.

It took the man a few moments for his sleep deprived brain to catch up with the rest of the world but when it did he smiled and hugged the woman in return.

"Yeah, I do," Tyler turned her around to face the others. "She's my annoying little sister, Skyler."

Skyler rolled her eyes. "Actually, I'm Tyler's  _older_  sister."

"No, you're not."

"Well that's not what the doctors, video, and mom and dad say."

"It's what I say."

"You have a  _sister_?" Jodi asked, thoroughly shocked. "You never told us!"

"Well, actually we're twins," Tyler corrected. "And...well, I guess it just never really came up."

"Yeah, we haven't been in contact for a few years," Skyler agreed.

Burt frowned slightly. "Why is she here?" he asked suspiciously.

Tyler frowned down at his sister in confusion. "Yeah, why  _are_  you here?"

"I'm here for my job. There's been rumors that this valley is home to more than just your Graboid. And I'm here to find out if it's true," she grinned.

"You're...the reporter?" Nancy asked in shock.

Skyler nodded.

"That's great," Burt mumbled, walking back into the store.

Skyler watched him leave. "He's kinda grumpy, ain't he?"

"Yeah, ya get used to it," Tyler told her.

"Wow." The two turned to see Larry staring at them in amazement.

"What?"

"The resemblance is uncanny," Nancy replied.

"Yeah," Larry moved closer for a better look. "Even your eyes are the same. Hey, can you guys feel what the other is feeling when they get hurt? Like in that one movie-"

"Yes and no," Tyler said. "Yes, we can sometimes, and no, it's nothing like that stupid movie."

"Hey!" Larry glared at him as he led his sister into the store. Nancy patted his back as she passed.

Jodi laughed a little, offering Larry an amused smile as she followed the others.

"So," Nancy sat next to Skyler. "You're a journalist?"

"Yep. I've always been interested in writing."

"More like gossip," Tyler murmured. Skyler stuck her tongue out at him.

"Do you write for a magazine or a newspaper?" Jodi asked curiously.

"Newspaper. I work for the Auburn Journal in Auburn."

"Where's that?" Jodi asked.

"Oh it's this town in the middle of California just west of Reno on highway 80."

"You came an awfully long way," Burt commented.

"Yeah, but it was worth it. The scenery is so nice here! Not to mention runnin' into Tyler was a nice surprise. I gotta say though, I am starving."

"I'll get ya something," Larry offered quickly. "What would ya like?"

Skyler smiled at his enthusiasm. "A cheeseburger's fine, thanks."

Larry nodded and hurried off.

"I'll help him with that," Jodi said following him. She stepped behind the counter, grabbing a plate and setting it on the countertop.

Larry moved to grab the hamburger meat, glancing back at the other side of the room.

"Ya know for looking almost exactly like Tyler, she's a lot prettier than I would've thought," he commented.

"Huh?" Jodi looked up. "You think so?" she asked a bit uncertainly with a small frown.

"Yeah," Larry smiled obliviously and grabbing the spatula to flip the hamburger patty.

Jodi clenched her teeth a little, eyes flashing. "Hey, Larry, let me do that," she insisted. "I really need you to restock the fridges with those," she said, pointing to a large box of cans of soda.

"Sure Jodster," Larry handed her the spatula and bounced off, not noticing the awkwardness.

Jodi bit her bottom lip, her gaze travelling after Larry for a moment. She began flipping the burgers uncomfortably, wondering what came over her. When she finished preparing the food, she carried the plate back to Skyler. It seemed Casey had shown up while she was gone and was talking to the oh so pretty Skyler.

"So you're Tyler's twin sister?"

"Yep. Known him since I was three minutes old."

"So you're the older twin?" she asked.

"No."

"Yes," Skyler glared at her brother. "Will you ever let that go?"

"No."

Casey chuckled at their bickering. "Well, it's nice to have you here in Perfection."

"Thanks."

Jodi set the plate in front of Skyler. "Here you go," she said.

"Mmm, looks good! Thanks!" Skyler dug in happily.

Burt stood up, looking around at the other Perfectionites. "I have to go up to Bixby for the day," he said. "Need to pick up some supplies. I'll be back in a few hours."

With a last look at Tyler, silently telling him he was in charge, the survivalist nodded to the others and left.

* * *

It was late that night when Melvin stopped at the small lab he had dropped the odd rabbit off at earlier. He hurried inside and down the hallway until he came to the room he was looking for. The sound of voices made him pause and he leaned against the wall to wait.

Several minutes passed before several scientists walked out of the room, too busy talking about something important to notice a well dressed business man standing in the hallway. Melvin waited until they were out of sight before entering the room.

"Dr. Moses?"

"Ah, Mr. Plugg," the black-haired scientist said, turning to Melvin. "Just the man I needed to talk to."

"Did you find out what it was?" Melvin asked.

"That's what I needed to talk to you about," Dr. Moses said, rifling through some papers and pulling one out. "I ran the tests thrice and I got the same results: some unknown... compound seems to have completely combined the DNA of a common Cottontail and a Mohave Rattlesnake."

"Is it poisonous?"

"It is actually both venomous, and poisonous," the scientist said a bit detachedly, looking over the paper.

Melvin frowned. "Is that possible?"

"Yes," Dr. Moses said, "Because something is poisonous if it is toxic if consumed and venomous if it releases venom when it bites or stings."

"Oh," Melvin nodded in thought. "So if something about the size of a whale ate it..."

"It would probably die in a few days, because although there is plentiful venom throughout its body, it's slow acting."

Melvin grinned inwardly. Perfect. "Well, I'm glad there's no more of these things out there. I'll take this one and make sure it gets disposed of properly."

Dr. Moses nodded, going into another room and returning with the cage. He handed it to the black-clad business man.

"Thanks," Plugg handed the man a wad of cash for his services and left, hurrying out to his van.

This was perfect. The thing was poisonous to creatures even as big as whales. Melville was finally within his reach.


	3. Running From the Law

Burt pulled up to the front of Chang's a week later. He mumbled grumpily to himself, seeing Skyler Reed's car still parked out in front. The survivalist climbed out of his Power Wagon, clad completely in camouflage, and entered the store.

The twins were sitting at the counter with Nancy and eating breakfast. They looked up as Burt came over.

"'Mornin' Burt," Tyler and Skyler chorused while Nancy smiled in greeting.

"Morning," Burt responded with a nod.

"Coffee, Burt?" Jodi asked from behind the counter, overly cheery, handing him a cup before he could respond.

Skyler giggled quietly and turned to her brother. "You never mentioned that Burt was so...ruggedly handsome," she whispered, eyeing the man's outfit.

"Probably because I'm a  _guy_ ," Tyler replied, giving her an odd look.

"So? Girls do comparisons like that all the time."

Tyler turned and stared at the survivalist with a critical eye, looking him up and down.

Burt raised an eyebrow at the man. "Can I help you?" he asked sarcastically.

Instead of answering though Tyler just frowned. "I don't see it."

Skyler scoffed. "You have no taste."

Burt stared for a moment at the two in confusion. He looked to Jodi for help, but she was making a point of being busy with something else.

Nancy laughed. "Don't worry Burt, you'll probably figure it out soon enough."

Tyler finished his coffee and stood up, heading for the door. "Well, I gotta-" he paused, looking out the door as an unfamiliar vehicle drove up. He rolled his eyes when the owner got out. "Turd alert."

"Ew!" Skyler crinkled her nose in disgust, not sure what he meant but guessing it wasn't good.

"Just what I need," Burt mumbled, "Another headache."

"Hey guys!" Melvin greeted happily, stepping through the door, followed by Larry who happened to be on his way in. "How is everybody today?"

"What do you want, Melvin?" Tyler asked wearily.

"What makes you think I want anything? Can't a guy just drop by his hometown for a visit?"

"A guy can," Nancy agreed. "But not you."

Melvin put a hand to his chest. "That hurts. Oo, hey, who's the hottie?" he asked, flashing a grin at Skyler.

An awkward silence fell over the store. Burt shook his head slightly. Not good.

Larry leaned over and whispered in the clueless man's ear. "That, would be Tyler's twin sister, Skyler."

The grin fell from Melvin's face to be replaced with an 'oh' look and then with an 'oh crap' look. He glanced at the tour guide out of the corner of his eyes. Tyler was glaring at him silently and all Nancy could think was  _'If looks could kill...'_

Jodi stifled a giggle at the tense exchange.

Burt cleared his throat. "What do you really want, Melvin?"

"Huh? Oh right," Melvin tugged at his tie uncomfortably and turned so he wasn't looking at Tyler. "To be honest there really is nothing I want, I'm just visiting."

Nancy raised an eyebrow. "Since when do you 'just visit'?"

"Ok fine!" Melvin said, breaking under Tyler's still angry gaze. "I'm...I'm hiding, ok? Is that a good enough reason?"

"Are you running from the law?" Jodi asked sarcastically.

"No, I'm not running from the law," Melvin mimicked. "I'm hiding from some idiot person who annoys me."

"I wish I could say the same thing right now," Burt mumbled.

"Okay then," Skyler hopped to her feet, eager to get out of the rather awkward situation, and hurried over to her brother who was still glaring. She smiled at Melvin. "Well it was nice meeting you but we gotta go. Valley stuff, you know. Come on Ty."

Tyler allowed himself to be dragged out of the store. After a moment's hesitation Larry followed, leaving the others in an odd silence.

Jodi turned on her heels back to her work, eyes storming. Burt, simply deciding to ignore the annoying man's presence, looked at her then gave Nancy questioning look as if to ask, "What's up with her?"

"Skyler," Nancy mouthed silently, tilting her head towards the door.

Burt still looked like he didn't understand, so he just sat down at a table with his coffee. Nancy rolled her eyes. Men could be so clueless.

Melvin finally seated himself at one of the tables. He hadn't really expected things to turn out quite so awkwardly. One thing he knew for sure though, he wasn't going anywhere near Tyler for awhile. He may be cocky but he wasn't stupid.

A few more tense minutes past in silence until another car pulled up in front of the store. A second later, Rosalita walked. "Hey gu-" she said, cutting herself off. "What did I miss?"

"Nothin' much, just Melvin being Melvin," Nancy replied calmly. "How's your day been?"

"Fine..." she mumbled, confused. She sat down near Melvin. "We don't see you see you here every day," she said, a bit suspiciously.

"I'm avoiding someone," Melvin replied.

"Two someones," Nancy added. Melvin just glared at her.

"What happened?" the woman smirked, picking up on the hidden meaning.

"He hit on Skyler in front of Tyler," Nancy said, grinning.

Rosalita laughed. "Wow, Melvin. As if Tyler doesn't hate you enough."

"I didn't know she was his sister!" Melvin protested.

"That's still pretty bad," she laughed.

"Even for you," Burt added with a cocky grin.

Melvin crossed his arms angrily and mumbled something under his breath.

 _ **"Burt?"**_  Roger's voice sounded from the radio.  _ **"I think we might have some trouble."**_

 _ **"Oh don't say that,"**_  Tyler's voice responded first.  _ **"Twitch said we're not allowed to have any trouble."**_

 _ **"What kind of trouble?"**_  Burt asked, looking especially annoyed.

" _ **Nothing really severe so far but El Blanco seems to have a bit of a stomach ache or something. Casey's not sure if it means anything but she said to keep an eye on him for a couple days just to be sure it's not a repeat of that N.E.W.D.O incident,"**_  Roger replied.

 _ **"We'll keep an eye out. I certainly hope E.B.'s not sick again,"**_  Burt mumbled.

Burt took a sip of his coffee and grimaced. "Jodi, this coffee is-"

"Not it the mood, Burt!"

Nancy gave a small sighed and exchanged a look with Burt and Rosalita, silently telling them to leave. She waited 'til they were out the door, Melvin being unceremoniously dragged after them, before she finally spoke.

"You ok, Jodi?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" the store owner said tightly, biting her bottom lip and not looking at Nancy.

"Uh, because you're a young woman who's crush is taken by the beauty of another woman," Nancy replied, her voice echoing with experience. "And you're jealous."

"M-my crush?" Jodi sputtered. "What am I, in high school?"

"Would you have rather me say your soul mate?" Nancy asked with a small smile. "Remember I've raised a teenager already, I know the limits of what to call someone you like."

Jodi frowned. "I... What even makes you think I'm jealous of Skyler?"

Nancy simply raised her eyebrows, giving the other woman her well practiced 'mom stare' and waited.

"I... I'm... okay, I'm jealous!" Jodi said, throwing her hands up in defeat. "But... he's just so... oblivious!" she huffed.

"Most men are," Nancy chuckled.

She gritted her teeth. "Surprisingly, you're not making me feel any better," she said sarcastically, but the hurt was showing in her eyes and voice.

Nancy sighed. "What I mean is, Larry may be oblivious, but that doesn't mean he doesn't like you back. He's slightly taken by Sky for her beauty but she is  _so_  not his type and he knows that. You don't have to be so freaked out that you're gonna loose him, okay?"

"I know," Jodi sighed. "Doesn't make me feel any less jealous, though," she half-smiled.

"I'm not sayin' you shouldn't be jealous, don't freak out about it," Nancy said. "Plus these are the best times to torment them," she added with a mischievousness grin.

That made Jodi smile and snicker.

"So, I heard there's a new sci-fi movie airing in Bixby tonight. How 'bout you, me, and your little scoundrel do a movie night and go see it, hmm? No reeds of any kind."

"Okay, sounds like a plan," Jodi smiled, giving Nancy a small hug to say thanks.

Nancy smiled. "I'll go tell Larry the plan and we'll meet at my house at three, okay?"

Jodi nodded, feeling a weight lifted off her chest. What would this town do without Nancy? She was just glad that they hadn't had to find that out, and hopefully never would. Who else was she going to fawn over Larry with?


	4. Twin Trouble

The next morning Tyler woke up to his sisters' finger digging into his side.

"Tyyyyyy, wake up!" Skyler said impatiently.

Tyler swatted her hand away from him. "Geez Sky, can't you let me wake up on my own for one day?" he asked wearily.

Skyler huffed. "Fine, I just thought you might like to know that El Blanco's eating your jeep."

"What?" Tyler sat up quickly, his eyes wide. Skyler laughed.

"Knew that would work."

Tyler grabbed his pillow and hit her with it. "Not funny. He's actually done that already."

Skyler blocked the hit and smiled. "I know. But seriously, it does have something to do with EB; he's out back and actin' kinda weird."

"What do you mean?" Tyler asked.

Skyler pulled him from the bed and towards the back. Like she had said El Blanco was outside, passing the town much slower than usual and grumbling.

"Wasn't sure if that was normal or not," Skyler murmured.

Tyler frowned. "It's not."

"Should we follow him?"

"Let me get dressed," Tyler replied.

* * *

Later that morning, Burt was met outside the store by a slightly worried looking store owner. "What's the matter, Jodi?" he asked.

"Tyler and his sister are missing. Or, at least, they haven't showed up this morning."

"Who hasn't shown up this morning?" Larry asked, coming up behind them.

"Tyler and Skyler," Jodi said, "Tyler isn't in his Quonset hut, Skyler isn't at Nancy's, and the jeep's gone."

"Maybe he's just showing her the Graboid Tour," Burt offered doubtfully.

"I thought he did that the day after she arrived," Larry said.

"I'll try radioing him," Burt said, pulling out his walkie-talkie.  _ **"Burt, this is Tyler, over."**_

There was no answer.

 _ **"Tyler, come in, over,"**_  Burt said again, looking worried. When there was still no response, he frowned and shook his head. "Let's see if we can track him down with the seismo monitor."

They hurried into the store, Larry leading the way. Burt went over to the monitor. All he saw was El Blanco, which was at first discouraging. But then he realized what the worm was doing. "Look! E.B.'s circling around this point here," he said, tapping the area of the screen. "Do you know what's there?"

Larry shrugged.

"During the first graboid incursion, Earl Basset, Val McKee, and Rhonda LeBeck got stranded on a string of residual boulders here," Burt explained excitedly. "I bet Tyler and Skyler are stranded on them," he added, already heading towards the door.

"Why would they even be out there?" Larry asked hurrying after him.

"I have no idea," Burt mumbled.

"Maybe it has to do with El Blanco acting weird yesterday," Jodi offered nervously.

Burt gave her a worried glance he got in his Power Wagon. "I hope not," he said, then left.

* * *

Tyler watched the circling worm in annoyance. They had followed him out into the desert when he had suddenly turned around and attacked the jeep. The twins had barely been able to get to some nearby rocks and Tyler had lost his radio in the process. Now El Blanco was circling the rock, surfacing now and again to roar.

"He seems agitated," Skyler murmured, watching the Graboid with sad eyes.

"Yeah," Tyler agreed. "He acting like when the scientist poisoned him but also kinda like when Melvin brought in that machine to make him eat more when I first got here."

"Do you think Melvin's behind this?"

"Wouldn't surprise me."

El Blanco surfaced again next to the rocks, waving his tentacles. He seemed slightly unbalanced though, and fell over onto the boulder the two were sitting on. They scrambled backwards.

"Ok, that's new," Tyler frowned. He'd never seen El Blanco loose his balance before.

For a moment the Graboid just lay there, grumbling. Then he picked himself up again and flopped forward.

"What on earth is he doing?" Skyler asked as he repeated the movement.

"It looks like he's trying to climb the rock."

"I didn't think Graboids  _could_  climb rock."

"Neither did I," Tyler pulled his sister back as El Blanco came higher. He realized his mistake when he felt the rock against his back. They were cornered now and the rock was too high and smooth to climb.

Tyler had just enough time to mutter 'Crap' before El Blanco roared again and shot out with his tentacles. They ducked as the tongues reached for them.

"This way!" Skyler shouted, heading towards a small dip against the corner of the rock, providing the perfect spot for them to slip past the raging worm.

Tyler made to follow his sister when El Blanco grabbed him and pulled him backwards. Skyler grabbed his arm, kicking at the tentacle that held him until it let go. Unfortunately it simply traded Tyler's leg for hers and yanked her straight towards El Blanco's jaws.

"Sky!" Tyler reached to grab her but El Blanco raised himself up again. Skyler screamed as she was hefted into the air.

A sudden loud explosion went off against El Blanco's head and he dropped her, roaring angrily. Tyler grabbed her and pulled her back against him as the Graboid fell against the rocks again, strangely continuing his attack instead of leaving.

Burt furrowed his brow in anger. He knew that El Blanco could act crazy when he was sick, but he had never not run from a concussion grenade. He seriously considered going for "Ol' Betsy", but instead pulled out two more grenades. The survivalist pulled the pins again, throwing both at the graboid.

The grenades exploded against his head and the rock face and blinding the twins with dust. El Blanco roared and knocked himself against the rock, narrowly missing their heads.

Burt took his last grenade, tossing it in a last ditch effort to drive away El Blanco. The ill worm finally seemed to calm down and stopped thrashing about. He stayed still for several moments before slowly disappearing beneath the ground and leaving.

As soon as the graboid was far enough away, Burt quickly ran up to the rock. "Tyler, Skyler, are you two okay?"

They both just nodded wearily.

Burt scowled. "What were you two thinking, driving off without letting anyone knowing where you were headed? From the looks of it, I was almost too late!"

"Sorry," they chorused, looking at Burt with the exact same apologetic look on their faces.

"I hope the worm didn't wreck your jeep," the survivalist grumbled, helping the two off the rock.

"I don't think so," Tyler replied as he headed towards his vehicle.

Skyler winced slightly when her foot touched the ground and leaned against Burt to rub at it.

Burt leaned her against his Power Wagon and kneeled down to inspect her ankle. "Can you put your weight on it?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said, resting it on the ground. "It just stings a little. It's probably just a tiny sprain."

"Affirmative. It's not too bad. We'll get you back to town, Jodi probably has an ace-bandage you could use," he said, standing back up.

Skyler smiled sweetly. "Thanks. For saving us I mean."

"Welcome," he nodded stoically.

"Jeep's ok!" Tyler called, jogging back to them. He caught glanced at his sister, noticing the slightly dreamy look on her face, and rolled his eyes. "And I'm gonna say that El Blanco really is sick, he could barely even keep his balance."

Burt frowned. "That's a given. I wonder what happened this time," he mumbled.

Tyler shrugged. "Got me. Unless Melvin had something to do with it, he was here all day yesterday."

"Yeah, and that's when El Blanco started acting up," Skyler added.

"Whatever or whoever did this," Burt said, "We should go see Casey. See if she can help us figure this out."

Tyler nodded, pulling Skyler towards his jeep. "We'll meet you there."


	5. General Spunsky

Burt watched for a moment as Tyler pulled past him towards the town. He parked himself in front of the dome-shaped lab. Casey trotted out to meet him, looking a bit puzzled.

"Burt, what are you doing here? Is this about El Blanco?" she asked.

The survivalist nodded. "He attacked Tyler and Skyler, and it took four concussion grenades to scare him off," he frowned.

"Oh, wow, that's really strange," she gaped, eyes wide.

Roger came out behind Casey, frowning. "Was there any other kind of peculiar behaviour?"

Burt nodded. "He climbed a rock. In all my years of dealing with graboids, I have  _never_  seen one even make an attempt at something like that."

"Sounds like he's really messed up," Roger said. "What could be affecting him like this?"

"The only time he's acted remotely like this is the N.E.W.D.O. incident," Casey said.

"That and the time Melvin used a machine to drive him nuts," Burt added, "Before you guys got here."

"Could Melvin be behind it?" Roger asked. "He was here the day El Blanco started acting strange."

"I wouldn't be surprised," Burt mumbled. "And if he poisoned him, we need to figure out with what."

* * *

Tyler pulled the bandage tight around his sister's ankle and fastened it. "How's that?"

"Good, thanks," Skyler flipped her shower wet hair out of her face and sighed. "You know I've never been one to be queasy about being dirty. But graboid saliva? Gross."

"Yeah," Tyler grinned. "At least we didn't get swallowed though. That actually happened to Burt once, although he refuses to talk about it. I had to pry it out of Jodi."

"He got  _swallowed_?" Skyler's eyes grew as wide as saucers, demanding more information.

"In a metal barrel. Desert Jack had to cut him out."

"Wow," her eyes grew dreamy. "No wond-"

"Okay!" Tyler slapped her knee and stood up quickly before she said something girly that would make him want to die every time he saw Burt. "Come on, we should go find Burt and figure out what the plan is."

Skyler rolled her eyes at him but followed willingly. "Hey Ty?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you know if Burt's got abs?"

_'Kill me now...'_

* * *

"Heeeey peoples," Tyler greeted as he walked into the lab.

Burt nodded towards him in greeting. Casey looked up from her calculating, offering him a smile as Skyler entered as well. "Hey," she said, "How's your ankle?"

"Fine, thanks," Skyler smiled, plopping down in an empty chair. "So did you guys find out why El Blanco's actin' all crazy?"

"Nothing yet," the scientist responded. "We need to get a sample from El Blanco somehow."

"Which means sedating him somehow but he could dive well underground before it kicked in and we might not be able to dig him out," Roger added.

"How 'bout General Spunksy?" Skyler asked.

"He's not an  _actual_  worm, Sky," Tyler said.

"So? He's still worm-like, and General Spunksy had his personality. Remember the time he got stuck in your belt?"

Tyler frowned. "Actually it was Dad's belt and he grounded us for a month."

"...Right. Anyway, it worked then, it might work now."

"Hmmm."

Ignoring the strange looks of the others Tyler turned to Burt. "Do you have any alka-seltzer and red wine?"

"Jodi should have those back at the store," Burt nodded.

Casey still looked awfully confused. "What's a General Spunsky?"

"He's not a what, he's a who," Skyler said, slightly offended.

"He's a pet night-crawler we had as kids," Tyler explained.

"You had a pet night-crawler?" Roger asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You've eaten beetle pancakes?"

"... Touché."

Casey shook her head at the two. "What does wine and alka-seltzer have anything to do with it?"

" _Red_  wine," Skyler corrected. "And it has everything to do with it."

"Just make sure to have E.B at the rocks again in an hour," Tyler said, pulling his sister out the door. "We'll meet you there."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you've forgotten, the whole beetle pancakes is a reference to the First installment of the LGF series. If you haven't read it...WHAT THE CHEESE ARE YOU DOIN' READIN' THIS ONE?
> 
> Oh, and yes, while Tyler was unconscious at that moment, Larry wasn't, and is also rather blabby. So, that's how Tyler knows about the pancakes.
> 
> And yes. The twins named a night-crawler General Spunksy and kept him as a pet. Don't judge.


	6. EB's Half-Eaten Lunch

The next morning the residents gathered in the small dome lab to see what it was exactly the twins had in mind. Jodi had brought the 3 gallons of red wine and 4 packages of alka seltzer as instructed and now they were just waiting as Tyler and Skyler mixed them together into a large bag.

Burt looked in confusion over Skyler's shoulder. "I would appreciate if you could explain what you plan on doing," he said, frowning.

"Makin' El Blanco sick," Tyler replied happily.

"Quickly," Skyler added.

"With red wine and alka seltzer?" Nancy asked doubtfully.

"It's not that far-fetched," Casey said. "Those two ingredients are likely to cause such an effect."

"But why make him sick?" Jodi asked doubtfully. "Won't that just make this all worse?"

"I'm guessing it'll just make him throw up," Roger said, glancing at Tyler who nodded.

"Yeah, and he might even throw up whatever's ailing him," Skyler added. "If it's something he ate anyway."

"That's a pretty good idea," Casey nodded. "Let's just hope whatever is causing him to act this way  _can_  be vomited out."

"If it was an injection, this won't work," Burt agreed.

"But you'll also get a saliva sample for testing," Tyler said. "So it works either way."

Casey grinned. "Okay! Let's get to it, then!" she said enthusiastically, clapping her hands together once.

Tyler, Skyler, and Burt piled into the power wagon with mixture and took off.

"So where is the ol' boy?" Tyler asked, leaning in-between the two seats to look at the screen.

"Still hangin' around the boulders I found you on," Burt said, then added, barely audible, "Poor dumb worm. Must be real sick."

Barely audible, but still just loud enough for Tyler to hear. He smiled slightly. For all his tough bravado the survivalist was really a big softy, even for the worm. Not that he'd tell Burt that.

* * *

Not long later, they were fairly close to where El Blanco was.

"Okay, drive by and I'll jump onto the rocks," Tyler said. "Hopefully he'll try to climb the rocks again."

"Why do you get to do it?" Skyler asked.

"'Cause I'm oldest."

"No you're not! Come on, let me do it, it was my idea!"

"Forget it! I-"

"Tyler will do it," Burt said. "This is very dangerous and he is much more experienced," he added before Skyler could protest.

Skyler huffed in annoyance as Tyler grinned. The survivalist drove up along the boulder, close enough for Tyler to jump across, and then parked a couple yards away to keep from interfering.

Tyler quickly pulled out the CD player and hit play to lure El Blanco out of the ground.

For several long moments there was no response. Tyler was just about to call it quits when the Graboid grumbled just next to the rock. He surfaced slowly, groaning and wailing. Tyler backed away and the worm followed, letting out a loud bellow.

Tyler took the moment to toss the bag of 'medicine' into El Blanco's mouth. The Graboid swallowed it and grumbled. As the seconds seemed to stretch into hours, Burt's hand curled around a concussion grenade and Skyler leaned further out her window as if that would somehow speed things up.

In the mean time El Blanco had gone back under and was circling the rock, agitated. Finally after several minutes he resurfaced a few feet away and proceeded to get sick, regurgitating a small calf and another smaller animal. The others waited for him to leave but instead the Graboid just lay against the ground wearily.

After waiting a few more minutes Tyler hopped off the rock and started towards the animal slowly.

"Careful, Tyler," Burt warned, but was getting out of the Power Wagon himself and making his way towards the worm.

Determined not to be left out, Skyler hurried after him and they gathered around El Blanco. Tyler knelt next to him and reached a hand out to pet his side, feeling his slightly labored breathing.

Skyler squatted next to the regurgitated mess, poking at it with a stick. "A calf and some sort of overly large rabbit and...a rattlesnake?" she glanced up. "Isn't that rather insufficient enticement for a Graboid?"

Burt stood over the remains of the Graboid's meals, frowning. He waved Tyler over, his attention grabbed by the rabbit, which was actually attached to the snake. He'd seen that before.

Tyler cursed.

"What is it?" Skyler asked, puzzled by their worried frowns.

"Not sure yet," Burt lied. "Tyler, get something we can put this in. We need to get it back to the lab."

Tyler hurried to the truck, grabbed a spare piece of tarp, and hurried back.

"Sky an I'll stay here and watch over El Blanco," Tyler said as the rabbit remains were wrapped up. He patted the worm's tough hide. "Don't look like he's plannin' on goin' anywhere any time soon."

"Okay, but be careful," Burt said. "I don't want to have to explain a dead reporter to Twitch," he mumbled, getting into his vehicle.

* * *

Casey and Roger where the only ones left at the lab, the others choosing to go home instead of sitting around waiting with nothing to do. Roger took in the annoyed look and bundled tarp when the survivalist walked in.

"Did it work?"

Burt nodded tensely, placing the tarp on the metal table and opening it up.

Roger started at the sight. "I thought we got rid of all these?"

"I thought so too," Burt frowned.

Casey looked worried. "This is bad. The poison he ingested could still severely damage El Blanco unless we can create anti-venom. Again."

Roger nodded. "What was he doing when you left?"

"Just laying there like a beached whale," the survivalist said.

"Sounds like he doesn't have much time left," Roger murmured.

"And we don't have much time," Casey added. "Come on, Roger. Let's get to work."


	7. Chapter 7

Skyler sighed and watched her smoky breath billow above her head against the desert night. El Blanco grumbled lowly behind her and she could feel the vibration down to her bones. It was strange sitting next to a giant creature that would under normal circumstances swallow her whole. Not that normal circumstances were common in this valley. At least that's what it seemed like, what with everything Tyler had told her.

After pestering him for over an hour, using both her annoyance skills and "twin powers", she had finally gotten her brother to tell her the valleys' secret.

"Years ago there was this lab built underground at the far end of the valley, run by Proudfoot."

"Proudfoot? What were they doin' out here?"

"Who knows? Anyway, they had developed this gene-splicing tool that could combine the DNA of any non-human species together and create hybrids. Called it Mixmaster. Then some of the idiots started selling the creations behind the government's back but they found out. 3 days after that Proudfoot blew up the lab to hide any traces. That was 30 years ago. They were stupid enough to leave the mixmaster behind and some slipped out. Combined with some other bacteria and turned into a water-loving cloud. We managed to trap it but it still left traces of mixmaster that other animals ate. Now it's loose in the valley and we have random creations popping up every once in a while."

"Like that bunny thing Burt took to the lab?"

"Yeah. It was a combination of a Mohave Rattlesnake and a Cottontail. Super poisonous and venomous. That's why E.B.'s so sick."

"Wow. So the lab is completely gone now?"

"Well, not quite. There's still some parts operational but we found that out the hard way."

He'd gone on to explain their adventure and meeting Shadow and Spotlight, two dragon-like creatures that had helped them fight the 'whitecoats' as Tyler called them.

She turned back to look at him, sleeping soundly against El Blanco's tough hide. If Pa knew...she wasn't sure but she figured he wouldn't be too happy. He was protective enough over them as it was.

It was a little while longer before Burt pulled up in his Power Wagon. He jumped out of the truck, gloved hands clutching a Tupperware container taped shut and containing a thick green mixture.

Skyler looked up as he came over, her eyes drawn to the slightly disturbing looking liquid. "Is that the medicine?"

Burt gave her a quick nod. "We have to get El Blanco to swallow it. Preferably without getting eaten," he said. The survivalist nudged Tyler with his foot. "Come on Tyler, we're running on borrowed time."

Tyler started awake and got to his feet, stretching. "Doctorin' time, huh? So what's the plan?"

"Gotta get E.B. to swallow this," he shook the container, splashing around the liquid.

"Ew, what the heck is that?" Tyler wrinkled his nose in disgust. "It looks like lumpy brain juice from that freaky movie Larry made us watch last month."

"If it works, I don't really care," he mumbled, walking to the front of the graboid.

The twins followed closely behind.

"Doesn't seem to be in his death throes like last time," Tyler observed. "Think that's bad?"

"Not sure," Burt said. "How do we get him to swallow this?" he grumbled, half to himself.

"Throw it in and hope he swallows?" Skyler suggested with a shrug.

Tyler rolled his eyes. "How 'bout  _pouring_  it in?"

He took the container from Burt and popped the lid off, making a face at the odd odor released. El Blanco was still lying there silently, not doing much more than grumble. Tyler approached his mouth slowly so as not to startle him, carefully reached the container between the sharp jaws that could snap his arm off in a second and poured the liquid as near his throat as he could manage. The worm moved and Tyler yanked his arm back to safety as El Blanco closed his mouth and swallowed the anti-venom.

"That felt slimy," Skyler commented.

Burt looked at her, a confused frown on his face. "Let's hope that worked."

"Shall we camp for the rest of the night?" Tyler asked.

Burt raised an eyebrow at him. "You want to be here when he gets his appetite back?"

"We could sit in the truck," Tyler said. "As long as we don't make a bunch a noise he should ignore us."

"Fine," Burt nodded. "We'll take shifts staying up so we aren't caught off guard by the worm."

"I'll take first watch since I've already had my nap," Tyler said.

After that, the night went quite smoothly. It took a few hours for the antidote to affect the sand whale, but he eventually pulled himself back underground and sped off. Burt radioed Casey, delivering the good news.

Afterwards they headed back to town for a warm meal and clean change of clothes as well as to get Skyler packed. Her boss had only allowed her a little over a week and she had to start heading back to Auburn by noon.

"It was nice getting to meet you," Nancy said as they stood on the porch of Changs', watching Tyler load his sister's luggage into her car.

Jodi stood in the doorway to Changs', offered a half-hearted wave, and stepped back inside.

Rosalita gave Skyler a small hug. "Thanks for helping out with El Blanco."

"We couldn't have done it without you," Burt admitted.

"Aw, thanks Burt," Skyler giggled, hugging him. "And it was my pleasure. I love adventure. But, now I gotta go back to my job, and Johnny. He's probably missing me by now, no doubt."

"Johnny?" Tyler frowned at the unfamiliar name as he joined the group. "Who's Johnny?"

"A guy I'm dating, and don't you even think about it!" Skyler replied sternly. "He's nice and sweet and interested in a lot of the same things you and I are."

Jodi quickly returned to the door, looking curious. A small smile crossed her face.

"Well, feel free to come back any time," Burt said.

"Yeah," Larry agreed, beaming and looking completely unaffected by the announcement of a boyfriend. "Two Reeds is like having two times the normal excitement."

Skyler laughed, looking over at Jodi and grinning before getting into her car. "See ya guys later!"

The others waved as the Nissan pulled out and sped down the road in a cloud of dust.

"I see you guys share your love of speed," Nancy remarked with a grin.

Tyler just shrugged.

Another disaster averted, Burt headed back to his Power Wagon. He had a certain little Turd to talk to...

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Story: Gummer family things are involved, and Tyler and Larry get in trouble with the lab.


End file.
